The present invention relates to a machining centre with a modular magazine for the tools.
The problems of the handling of the tools in the magazines of modern machining centres have been faced for many years and each of the solutions offered suits the special requirements and configurations of the particular machining centre with which it is associated.
For example, a magazine for the tools of the "chain" type is known in which the tools are supported by carriages connected to one another and caused to slide on guides in the proximity of a movable arm which effects exchange between a used tool extracted from the spindle of the machining centre and a fresh tool withdrawn from the chain.
This type of tool magazine is generally cumbersome and not very flexible, inasmuch as it does not allow a capacity for easy expansion or conversions of the magazine to follow the development of the complexity of the working machine and of its machining operations. Moreover, this magazine does not permit rapid reconfiguration of the tools for new machining operations and it is not possible to utilize it for serving a plurality of working machines.
In another type of magazine for machining centres, the tools are disposed in two parallel rows on a plurality of horizontal supporting frames aligned one beside the other on horizontal supporting beams. A carriage provided with a motorized arm and controlled by a computer slides beside the frames to withdraw and/or deposit the tools. The carriage shifts from the magazine to a position beside the working machine, where an exchanging fixture carries out exchange of the tools between the spindle and the motorized arm. This type of magazine occupies a large area close to the machine, because of which an eventual extension thereof proves difficult. In view of the horizontal position of the frames, their transport requires considerable free space, with considerable increase in the general costs of the centre. Moreover, the reconfiguration of the tools can be done only manually, with considerable loss of time.